MA Iranian Studies & Intensive Persian Programme Specification

Programme Specification

I. Programme Details

Programme title Iranian Studies Iranian Studies & Intensive Language (Persian) Final award (exit awards will be made as BA ☐ MA ☒ outlined in the Taught Degree Regulations) BSc ☐ MSc ☐ Other ... ☐ Mode of delivery Distance-learning ☐ On-campus ☒ Professional body accreditation (if applicable) n/a Academic year this specification was created 2016/17 Dates of any subsequent amendments

II. Programme Aims: What will the programme allow you to achieve?

1. Critically assess the historical development of Iranian society, economics and culture within the context of the wider west Asian area. 2. Appreciate the complexity of the history and cultural make up of Iran. 3. Analyse Iran in accordance with an interdisciplinary curriculum and a flexible study programme. 4. Enhance their knowledge about the religious and politico-cultural influences affecting contemporary Iran and the region it is embedded in. 5. The programme allows students to cultivate or further develop a basic expertise in particular aspects of Iranian Studies. 6. The programme allows students to choose modules that meet their own needs, with respect to their interest in Iran and future career plans. 7. The programme allows students to develop their abilities to synthesize information, to think critically, to manage a complex research project and to present their results in verbal and written form. 8. In the two-year Intensive Language pathway, the student will also be expected to achieve a certain level of language proficiency in Persian.

III. Programme Learning Outcomes: What will you learn on the programme? There are four key areas in which you will develop:

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge 1. Acquire specific factual knowledge about modern Iranian history and politics, religion and society, arts, literature, media, economics. 2. Appreciate the diversity and complexity of contemporary Iranian society and culture. 3. In the intensive language pathway, students will furthermore be able to study Persian to a certain level of proficiency, thus immersing them in the language of the region. Typical Teaching Methods Typical Assessment Methods  The acquisition of knowledge about the historical, cultural, social, political development of Iran through lectures and seminar participation.  The critical engagement with Islam and other historical Iranian religions, with

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classical and modern Persian poetry and prose literature, modern film and media will be acquired through lectures and seminars.  Knowledge of Shia Islam in Iran, modern literature inside Iran and in exile will be acquired through specialist modules.  Persian language skills will be enhanced and tested through language classes. In the intensive language pathways in particular, students will receive more intensive language provision.

Learning Outcomes: Intellectual (thinking) skills 1. Critically assess the historical development of Iranian society, economics and culture within the context of the wider west Asian area. 2. Analyse Iran in accordance with an interdisciplinary curriculum and a flexible study programme encompassing the full range of historical, cultural and socio-economic aspects of the country in past and present. 3. Students will learn how to assess data and evidence critically from a variety of sources and how to resolve problems of conflicting sources and conflicting interpretations. 4. Students will learn the strengths and disciplines of particular disciplinary and theoretical approaches, cultivating their ability to draw on a variety of such approaches. 5. Students will learn how to design and manage an independent research project, formulating the problem to be addressed, identifying the data to be analysed, and synthesizing the findings to present well-supported conclusions. Typical Teaching Methods Typical Assessment Methods  Theoretical approaches to politics, economics, cultural and literary studies will be introduced in lectures and seminars, and their application tested in seminar discussion, oral presentations and critical review of written essays.  Systematic analysis of cultural products from Iran with a multitude of perspectives and methods in case studies in seminar discussion, oral presentations and critical review of written essays.  The ability to evaluate and apply independent research methods, to demonstrate originality in research on themes from literary and cultural studies. The ability to formulate interpretations of selected themes from Iranian history, cultural studies, literary, media and film studies. These skills will be tested in seminar discussions, oral presentations and in the critical review of written essays, in the final dissertation.

Learning Outcomes: Subject-based practical skills

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1. Learn to use Iran-related reference materials and research tools, the most recent research in various areas of Iranian studies presented in the core module and in the optional units. 2. Students will learn how to read critically, to participate effectively in seminar discussions, and to present their work in both oral and written form. 3. More specific skills will depend on the particular modules taken. Typical Teaching Methods Typical Assessment Methods  Writing skills will be developed and tested in essays and in the final dissertation.  The ability to identify and retrieve relevant information from a variety of sources will be developed and tested in lectures.  The ability to communicate in front of a group will be developed and tested through regular seminar presentations.  The ability to formulate arguments and defend or change them in critical discussions will be developed and tested in seminar discussions.  The ability to identify and access relevant resources will be developed in specialized research libraries.

Learning Outcomes: Transferrable skills 1. The ability to organise research, formulate arguments, gather and evaluate data, formulate conclusions and present these in a coherent and clear manner. 2. Students will learn how to access and evaluate electronic and other data effectively and efficiently. 3. Students will learn how to solve complex problems, for example concerning economic development, historical causation, literary interpretation, or political decision-making. 4. Students will learn how to communicate effectively in a variety of settings and formats. Typical Teaching Methods Typical Assessment Methods  The ability to formulate and discuss arguments in essays and dissertations will be developed and tested through long essays, course work and dissertation.  The ability to communicate ideas in oral and written presentations will be developed and tested through seminar presentations, lecture-based discussions and essays.  The ability to study a variety of written and digital materials, in libraries and research institutes will be developed and tested though the provision of detailed reading lists and references to on-line materials.

Learning Outcomes: Linguistic skills (in the Intensive Language pathway) 1. To acquire/develop skills in Persian to the level specified in the respective programme specifications 2. To demonstrate awareness of the conceptual and communicative underpinnings of the relevant language and through this inter-linguistic and inter-cultural understanding.

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3. Communicate in written and spoken medium in Persian. 4. Engage with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, understand the role of different frames of reference. Typical Teaching Methods Typical Assessment Methods  Acquisition of a spoken and written  Assessment through unseen modern Persian through intensive examinations, coursework, long language study. essays and a dissertation, together  Ability to read and process modern written with the incorporation of materials in Persian on a variety of topics the language in coursework and  Ability to speak and understand that exams. language to an intermediate or advanced level (depending on entry level)  Experience of living and studying in that language during period of study abroad.

General statement on contact hours – postgraduate programmes Masters programmes (with the exception of two-year full-time MAs) consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional. As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study (see https://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/ug/teaching/) such as reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. Also included is class time, for example lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects may have more class time than others – a typical example of this are language acquisition modules. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar every week, but this does vary. More information can be found on individual module pages.

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MA Iranian Studies & Intensive Persian (two years full‐time)

Taught Component SOAS Taught Component SOAS Taught Component SOAS Taught Component Abroad credits 60 30 30 45 module code 15PNMC415 15PNMC405 15PNMC431 Year 1 Intensive Upper from List A module title Intensive Persian Language ++Iran: Culture, History, Politics + Intermediate Summer Persian Language Component Discipline Component Discipline Component Study Abroad

Taught Component SOAS Taught Component SOAS Dissertation credits 30 60 60 module code 15PNMC408 15PNMC998 Year 2 from List A or B Dissertation in Iranian module title Persian Language 3 + + Studies Language Component Discipline Component Dissertation

*List of modules (subject to availability) Code Title Credits List A: Iran‐specific modules 15PSRC052 Zoroastrianism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives 30 15PSRC036 Text and Context in Zoroastrianism 30 15PMSH010 Iranian media and film 15 15PNMC425 Directed Readings in Persian Studies 30 15PNMC401 Classical Persian Poetry 30 15PSRC033 Avestan I30 15PSRC034 Pahlavi Language 30 List B: modules relating to the Middle East 15PECC341 Economic development of the Middle East 30 15PNMC228 Modern Trends in Islam 30 15PGNH001 Gender in the Middle East 15 15PPOC027 International Politics Of The Middle East 30 15PPOH007 Islam and political ideologies 15 15PANC097 Culture and Society of the Near and Middle East 30 15PMUH008 Central Asian Music 15 15PDSH019 Problems of development in the Middle East and North Africa 15

MA Iranian Studies & Intensive Persian (four years part‐time)

Taught Component SOAS Taught Component Abroad credits 60 45 module code 15PNMC415 15PNMC431 Year 1 Intensive Upper Intermediate module title Intensive Persian Language + Summer Persian

Language Component Study Abroad

Taught Component SOAS Taught Component SOAS credits 30 30 module code 15PNMC408 15PNMC405 Year 2 module title Persian Language 3 + Iran: Culture, History, Politics Language Component Discipline Component

Taught Component SOAS Taught Component SOAS credits 30 30 Year 3 module title from List A+ from List A or B Discipline Component Discipline Component

Taught Component SOAS Dissertation credits 30 60 module code 15PNMC998 Year 4 + from List A or B Dissertation in Iranian module title Studies Discipline Component Dissertation